Homewood: A Community Profile Prepared by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services for the Homewood Children’s Village in October 2009 Published 2010 by Allegheny County DHS Table of Contents 4 History of Homewood 19 Housing and Home Ownership Homeownership 6 Homewood Community Assets Public Housing Vacancy Contents 7 DHS System Involvement 22 Child and Community Safety of 8 Income and Poverty Child Abuse and Neglect Juvenile Delinquency Income Poverty Shootings and Homicides Public Assistance Incarceration Table 11 Education and Employment 30 Sources Public School Enrollment Educational Attainment Employment 15 Health Indicators Pregnancy Infant Health Youth Mental Health Causes of Death 2 3 History of Homewood Homewood Beginnings A Neighborhood in Transition In the early 1800s, Homewood was a picturesque pastoral landscape. Beginning in the 1910s, upper middle class black families and working In 1852, the Pennsylvania Railroad began running railcars into -class Irish, Italian, and German families started moving to Home- Pittsburgh. Homewood was one of the stations along the way.1 This wood for its reasonable prices and convenient location. These groups new railway created opportunities for the wealthiest in the city. brought different customs and traditions to the area, and typically had Wanting to escape the dirt and grime of the city, many elite Pitts- less money than the upper middle class residents of the late 1800s. burghers sought a more scenic atmosphere. The extension of the Later, as a result of the changing demographics, many of the original Homewood railroad and the amenities it provided to Homewood made it possible upper middle class northern European descendants began to migrate 5 for these elites, among them Andrew Carnegie and George Westing- to neighborhoods in the more-distant suburbs. Because of these mi- of house, to relocate their families to the once suburban area. grations in inflows, Homewood became more diverse. Some streets had blocks of middle class families from the same ethnic background, oth- In its early stages, Homewood held mostly estates for these wealthy- ers had working class families from varied backgrounds, and still oth- families. As these estates required many workers to keep them in ers were poor and run-down.6 order, servants also moved to Homewood. Some lived in quarters on the estates, but many lived in areas around the railroad tracks. A The relations between the black and white residents of Homewood large number of these servants were black. The settlements of these were originally amiable. Black residents were among the first to settle estate servants marked the first black populations in Homewood. in the area, so later white neighbors acknowledged their claim on the 7 History neighborhood. There were tensions between different ethnic and reli- It was not until the 1890s, when streetcar lines were built, that up- gious groups in the area; however, it was not until later that race rela- per middle class families began moving to Homewood.2 Contractors tions in Homewood became truly strained. swept in and built modest brick and stone houses. Families were ea- ger to escape the grime of neighborhoods closer to the city, and the A shift in the demographics occurred in the 1950s when the city area grew rapidly in the first two decades of the 20th century. The claimed land in the Lower Hill District for the Civic Arena. This led to people who moved to Homewood were mostly downtown office the displacement of an estimated 8,000 people, some of whom decided workers, skilled laborers, and small business owners of Northern to relocate in Homewood. The majority of these Hill residents could European descent.3 At this time the neighborhood was considered not afford to buy houses in Homewood, so many of the large family “the choicest residence locality in the greater Pittsburgh area” and homes and other buildings were divided into rental apartments. These this helped create a neighborhood of 30,000 residents by 1910.4 events caused a shift in the racial balance of Homewood resulting in blacks outnumbering whites by large margins. 4 History of Homewood This influx of black residents panicked the neighborhood’s white are renter-occupied.13 This signifies the trend in homeownership vs. middle class, many of whom decided to move away. The result of renting that was noted in the 1950’s. this is that by 1960, Homewood was 70 percent black.8 The popula- An ethnography study was completed on Homewood in 1993 that pro- tion shifted from 22 percent black in 1950 to 66 percent black in vides some perspective on how the neighborhood has evolved since its 1960 with an overall population decline from 34,355 to 30,523.9 more vibrant years. Sadly, the conclusions of the ethnography de- A second event that resulted in unfortunate devastation of the scribed the youth as being lost and not able to see the value in them- neighborhood and other predominately black areas was the assassi- selves and others. To quote the study’s author, James E. Synder, Homewood nation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Riots and looting occurred in “Much of the discussion of the situation in Homewood Homewood and the Hill District for a period of two days causing today is tinged with anguish over the physical, eco- nomic, and social devastation of a community which of irreparable damage to businesses that led to the decline of the busi- once represented hope. The human tragedy associated ness district in both neighborhoods. with the loss of an economic base that nurtures a stable community is inescapable. Too many young people see The significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 cannot be over- no hope for a job that provides a living wage, and they stated. One of the provisions of this Act, the Fair Housing Act, gave know that education is no guarantee of economic suc- 14 blacks the right to reside anywhere they chose. Some of the more cess.” To combat the feelings of hopelessness that some residents have are affluent blacks in Homewood seized this opportunity and relocated neighborhood groups/organizations such as the Homewood-Brushton their families to surrounding areas such as Penn Hills, Plum and Community Association and the Homewood-Brushton Revitalization History Monroeville.10 This resulted in another population decline where & Development Corporation that aim at helping the residents and from 1970 to 1980 the population went from 20,266 down to 11 businesses thrive in the neighborhood. Further, these organizations 15,158. are vital in the efforts of providing the public with a different perspec- Recent Homewood History tive of the neighborhood that is not based on the primarily negative reports that the media outlets provide. Homewood has continued to see its population decline. In 1990, the population was estimated at 11,511 and in 2000, the estimate de- creased to 9,283.12 Furthermore, the neighborhood continues to be predominately black with about 50 percent of the residents in the labor force while the remaining 50 percent are categorized as not being in the labor force. Further, according to 2000 census reports, 47 percent of the residences are owner-occupied whereas 55 percent 5 Homewood Community Assets Assets Community 6 Overall Service Usage, Dept. of Human Services Density of Youth Actively Involved in the Department of Human Services, 2007 7 Children living in poverty are disproportionately exposed to a host of risk factors affecting develop- Household Income ment, including malnutrition, abuse, parental depression and low quality child care. Poor children also are more likely to experience poorer physical and mental health, engage in risky behaviors and fare worse academically than children who are not poor. Household Income A high percent of households in Homewood 1999 Household income, in 1999 Dollars neighborhoods made less than $15,000 in 1999, in- 60% Poverty cluding half of the households in Homewood South. When compared to the City of Pittsburgh, Home- 50% & wood neighborhoods have a much higher percent- Homewood West age of lower-income households and a lower per- 40% Homewood North centage of households with income greater than Homewood South $25,000. The gap between income levels is even 30% City of Pittsburgh more pronounced between Homewood and Alle- Allegheny County gheny County. As the graph illustrates, household 20% income is not constant across Homewood neighbor- hoods. Homewood South is dominantly poor, and 10% Income Homewood West has an income distribution that is slightly more even. 0% Less than $15,000 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $150,000 $15,000 to to to to to or more $24,999 $49,999 $74,999 $99,999 $149,999 Source: 2000 U.S. Census 1999 Population in Poverty 45% Populations in Poverty 40% Homewood North and Homewood South have much higher poverty 35% rates than the City of Pittsburgh. More than one in three people in Homewood North and South are living in poverty. Homewood West 30% not only has fewer people in poverty than the other two Homewood 25% neighborhoods, but the rate is also lower than the rate in the City of 20% Pittsburgh. All rates are higher than the national average for 1999, 15% which was 12.38 percent. 10% 5% Poverty rates are calculated using a national formula with weights 0% to account for different family sizes. In 1999, the poverty line was Homewood West Homewood North Homewood South City of Pittsburgh $8,240 for a single resident and $16,700 for a family of four. 8 Poverty The federal poverty level is used to calculate official pov- erty rates, but policies and programs impacting low- 1999 Ratio of Income to Poverty Level income individuals often discuss poverty in terms of in- ts come relative to the poverty line.